Remotely located information has been efficiently retrieved through the use of a host computer being connected through communication paths to local terminals. An example of such a system is a videotex system, which typically includes a host computer used to supply information to the terminal, as well as to establish gateway paths to other service computers.
In such a system, a user can make transactions from the terminal by communicating with the service computer. For example, the user can communicate with his or her bank's computer to perform banking transactions.
with such transactions, it is frequently the case that the user is requested to enter certain repetitive information on forms created by the service computer. Such entering of information can become time consuming and costly, when the transmission charges (usually telephone charges) are considered.
Therefore, it would be highly desirable to reduce greatly the amount of time required for the user to enter a transaction and other use input information.